Welcome to the Beijing Hour, coming to you live from the Chinese capital.

Coming up on this evening's program.

A massive and potentially deadly storm is approaching the US northeast.

Syrian envoy Lakhdar Brahimi is due to arrive here in China tomorrow for talks.

Japan's Prime Minister is rebuffing opposition calls for an early election.

Ukraine's ruling party appears poised to retain its hold on power.

In Business, Honda is cutting its full-year growth prospects because of a downturn in sales here in China.

In sports, the San Francisco Giants have swept the Detroit Tigers to take this year's World Series.

In entertainment, the latest in the James Bond franchise has broken records in its international debut.

Weather

Beijing will be clear tonight with a low of 2 degrees Celsius. Tomorrow will be cloudy, with a high of 13.

Meanwhile Shanghai will have moderate rain tonight, 15 the low, and tomorrow will see moderate rain too, with a high of 18.

Lhasa will be clear, the low will be 4 Celsius below zero, and will be cloudy tomorrow, with a high of 12.

Elsewhere in the world, staying in Asia

Islamabad, sunny, with a high of 29.

Kabul, sunny, 23.

Over in Oceania

Sydney, overcast, highs of 23.

Canberra, overcast, with a high of 24.

Brisbane, overcast, 25.

And finally, Perth, overcast, 22.

Top News

Hurricane Sandy: US states begin storm shutdown

US President Barack Obama is warning Americans to take Hurricane Sandy seriously.

The call comes as authorities begin shutting down the eastern seaboard ahead of its arrival, which is expected in the next 12-hours.

Several states have already declared emergencies, with schools and public transportation being shut down in many cities.

Experts are warning Sandy may become a super-storm when it makes landfall, given that a winter storm is expected to increase its strength.

The storm is affecting the US Presidential election.

Both Obama and Mitt Romney have called off a number of campaign events.

Sandy has already killed 60 people as it swept through the Caribbean during the past week.

Forecasters are warning the storm could linger over as many as 12 states for 24 to 36 hours.

States of emergency have been declared in Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, WashingtonDC and parts of North Carolina.

Tropical storm Son-Tinh to land in Guangxi

Tropical storm Son-Tinh is currently skirting the southern coast of Guangxi, after hitting Vietnam this weekend.

The Hong Kong observatory is reporting Son-Tinh is tracking toward the southeast coast of Guangdong.

It's packing winds of 75-kilometers per hour.

And while the storm is dying down, it is forecast to bring significant rain to parts of Guangxi, Guangdong and Hainan over the next 24-hours.

Forecasters on the mainland are warning Guangxi could be hit with upto 240-millimeters of rain over the next 24-hours.

Lakhdar Brahimi to pay a visit to China

U.N.-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi is set to begin a 2-day visit here to China starting tomorrow.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei.

"We have consistently expressed our appreciation and support for Special Representative Brahimi and have proactively proposed that relevant parties in Syria respond to Brahimi's proposals for a cease fire in Syria during the Eid al-Adha holiday period. We hope relevant parties can seize the opportunity and make the ceasefire permanent."

Details of who Brahimi will meet with here in China have not been revealed.

Meanwhile, on the ground in Syria, fighting between rebel groups and the Syrian Army continue across the country, despite the existence of a UN-brokered ceasefire, which is now into its 4th day.

Shelling and shooting are being reported in the capital, Damascus, and Aleppo, Syria's largest city.

The 4-day temporary ceasefire, which came into force on Friday, was negotiated by Lakhdar Brahimi to cover the Eid holiday.

Syrian authorities are blaming terrorists for breaking the truce.

Noda warns against early general election as extraordinary diet session convenes

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is brushing aside opposition calls for an early election.

Speaking at the opening of an extraordinary parliamentary session, Noda says an early election would risk creating a "political vacuum."

"In order to fulfil my 'responsibility for tomorrow', I cannot abandon jobs halfway to their completion. We cannot keep on having politics where energy is wasted when things that need to be done keep being put off."

The additional session of the Japanese parliament is being called to work on a bill needed to fund Japan's 474-billion U.S. dollar budget deficit.

Unless Noda can secure opposition backing for the deficit bill, the Japanese government may run out of money by the end of next month.¡¡

So far, there are no sign the opposition will back the funding bill.

Noda promised in August to call an election "soon" in order to secure opposition votes for another key piece of legislation, his signature sales tax increase plan.

However, Noda has been coy on exactly when he will call the election for the lower house, which must be held before August of next year.

Court enters 'not guilty' plea for Arroyo

A Philippine court has entered a not guilty plea for former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on charges of plundering.

The 65-year old Arroyo is accused of misusing state lottery funds.

She has denied the charges against her.

Ferdinand Topacio is one of Arroyo's lawyers.

"The arraignment continued even though our president did not enter a plea because we have a motion at the Supreme Court. So in order for her not to lose her rights, she did not enter a plea. The court was the one who entered a not guilty plea on her behalf."

If convicted, Arroyo could face life in prison.

Arroyo is currently being detained at a military hospital, where she is undergoing treatment for various ailments.

The charges against Arroyo come amid a crackdown on corruption in the Philippines being instituted by current President Benigno Aquino III.

Ukraine's ruling party claiming victory in parliamentary vote

The party of Ukranian President Viktor Yanukovych is claiming victory in the parliamentary vote in the country.

However, Ukraine's opposition parties have garnered more than half of the vote, outpacing Yanukovych's Party of Regions and its traditional allies.

Leaders of the opposition parties say they won't form a coalition with the ruling party.

Vitali Klitschko heads the Udar party.

"We do not see the possibility of cooperation with the party which has showed its real face by serving interests of the financial groups and the administration of the president. This is the Party of Regions and its satellite Communist Party. In the future parliament, we will cooperate with the parties which want democratic development of Ukraine."

Still, it's expected Yanukovych's ruling party will still retain control of the legislature, as its members are likely to sweep single-seat constituencies across the country.

Meanwhile, Yanukovych is rejecting opposition calls to free former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who's currently serving a 7-year sentence after being convicted of abuse of office.

Gaza ceasefire shattered by fresh violence

A brief ceasefire in Gaza has been shattered by fresh fighting involving militants and the Israeli military.

Militants in Gaza have fired around a dozen rockets into Israel, just hours after Israeli jets hit targets in Gaza.

"At 11:30 there was shelling, they shelled the house, the children were screaming and the debris from the house was falling on the small children."

No injuries have been reported on the Israeli side.

The latest exchange began after an Israel raid killed a man in Gaza who Israel claims fired mortars at its troops.

The latest incident follows a 3-day Egyptian-brokered truce, which was called after an upsurge in violence last week.

6 suspected militants were killed by Israeli air strikes on Hamas-controlled territory amid some of the heaviest rocket-fire into Israel for months.

4 Israeli civilians were also wounded in last week's attacks.

Suicide bomb attack hit a Nigerian church

At least 8 people are dead and dozens of others hurt, following a suicide bombing during mass at a Catholic church in northern Nigeria.

An explosive-laden vehicle has been driven into the church.

"We the catholic cadets of the church, we put our road block down here, so the man came in a jeep, at a high speed, we saw that he could pass through the gates, he reversed back and lurched forward in full speed so nobody could control him. When he entered we heard the sound of the blast, then we started trying to rescue people."

The attack happened in Kaduna, which has been targeted by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram in the past.

President Goodluck Jonathan is promising to "redouble" his government's effort to tackle terrorism and violence.

So far no group has claimed responsibility for the bombing.

Anglo American Platinum to reinstate 12,000 miners

Striking workers have reached a deal with South African platinum giant Anglo American Platinum to reinstate 12-thousand miners who were sacked recently for taking part an illegal strike.

The company is promising a one-off payment of around 230-US dollars to facilitate the workers' return.

The miners are expected to return to work by Tuesday.

The company says the workers will return on the same terms and conditions they were employed under before they went on strike.

"Reports suggest that shareholders are not happy with Ms Carroll's performance due to the strikes in South Africa and the dispute in the Chilean mining company. Earlier this month, the global credit rating firm Standard and Poor's downgraded its outlook on Anglo American to negative from stable, because of the strikes. Currently, only Anglo American's workers are staging massive wildcat strikes, so if the company's miners return to work, it would bring an end to the three-month labor unrest."

South Africa's mining industry has lost over a billion US dollars in revenues since the strikes first began a few months ago.

The country's currency, the rand, has slipped to its lowest level in around 3-years.

Children abusing cases

A number of legal experts here in China are calling for tougher laws to protect children.

This comes after a pair of recent cases involving the abuse of young children by their teachers.

Wang Dawei is a professor with the Chinese People's PublicSecurityUniversity.

"We don't have specific laws covering the abuse of children, so we have to charge suspects with existing laws. As such, the punishments may not fit the crime. It will be an improvement for China's legal system to add amendments covering the abuse of children."

In the most recent case here in China, a teacher from Zhejiang is facing charges after pictures began appearing online showing her abusing a number of her young students.

Cheaper HK dollars attract mainlander shoppers

Anchor:

The currency exchange rate between the mainland and Hong Kong is sitting at historically-low levels.

As CRI's Hong Kong correspondent Xu Weiyi reports, 100 Hong Kong dollars is only likely to get you about 80-renminbi.

Reporter:

As Hong Kong dollars are linked to US dollars, the recent depreciation of US dollars also resulted in the depreciation of the HK currency.

Many mainlanders regard the latest round of HK dollars depreciation as a golden opportunity for shopping in this Chinese special administrative region.

Wang Shujuan is one of those who traveled from Beijing primarily for shopping. She thinks cheaper dollars now make Hong Kong an even more attractive shopping destination.

"The modulation of exchange rate is an appealing factor for us to come to Hong Kong. It saves us money. It makes things a little cheaper than previously."

Cosmetics and luxury goods in Hong Kong are generally cheaper than that on the mainland already. The latest dollar depreciation has made them even better bargains.

Nicky Wong with China Travel Service says shopping is a very important part during the Hong Kong trip of most mainland visitors.

He believes weaker HK dollars will attract more individual tourists from the mainland, especially those from the neighboring GuangdongProvince.

"There will be a big increase in the number of travelers on individual basis and the overall mainland visitors. Short-haul travelers from Guangdong will increase a great deal as they will travel more often from Shenzhen and Guangzhou to purchase living goods."

Travel agencies in Guangzhou have reportedly predicted that the local tourists to Hong Kong and Macau will rise by at least 30 percent this year.

Meanwhile, stronger Chinese yuan has also lead Hong Kong residents to open up RMB savings accounts in local banks.

Tammy Wong is one of them.

"RMB has continued to appreciate and the interest for it is better, so many people would convert Hong Kong dollars into RMB."

Wong also noticed that as many fresh meat, eggs and vegetables in Hong Kong are provided by the mainland, the stronger RMB also drives the price of these products to rise.

"Recently we went to the supermarkets and found that, wow, many things were pretty expensive. As RMB appreciated, they were priced higher when they entered the Hong Kong market from the mainland."

For CRI, I'm Xu Weiyi in Hong Kong.

FirstSino-U.S.University Founded

Anchor:

China's first Sino-U.S. university - The Shanghai New York University - has been launched.

Education experts are expecting the institution will be a "test field" in China's higher education system.

CRI's Shen Chengcheng explains.

Reporter:

Jointly run by the New YorkUniversity and the Shanghai-based EastChinaNormalUniversity, about 40 percent of NYU Shanghai's students and faculty will come from abroad.

The student-to-faculty ratio will be 8 to 1, - that's half the average in Chinese universities.

The university's syllabus and curriculum will feature an international education of English lectures and courses with Chinese characteristics.

In the four-year undergraduate course, students can choose to study for up to three semesters in NYU's 16 "global network university" campuses, which include London and Abu Dhabi.

China's Ministry of Education is expecting the institute to be beneficial in building a high-level Chinese-foreign cooperative university.

Yu Lizhong is the president of NYU Shanghai.

"We aim at cultivating talents with international vision, who can better understand each other and cooperate with each other under the background of globalization. That is exactly what China need now."

China had previously issued the Outline of China's National Plan for Medium and Long-term Education Reform and Development in 2011, calling for the internationalization of tertiary education.

A report from the Social Sciences Academy says about 340,000 Chinese students went abroad for further study in 2011.

Over the past three decades, China has sent over 2.2 million students to study abroad.

Thus, educational insiders say the founding of NYU Shanghai may attract more international students to China, as well as to help tackle the brain drain.

Moreover, NYU President John Sexton describes NYU Shanghai as "a part of education reforms for China. "

However, Xiong Bingqi, the vice President of 21st century education research institute says he remains cautious about the role it may play for China's education reforms.

"On the whole, NYU Shanghai is within the framework of the educational system of Chinese mainland. It may serve to boost competition in a limited degree. However, it's not been given autonomy in many respects, including students' enrolment, curriculum and degree conferring. In one word, it provides domestic students with another choice, but is of limited significance to promoting the education reforms."

NYU-Shanghai's President Yu Lizhong also says the hope for China's education reform should not be rested entirely on co-founded universities.

More diversified forms of universities should be explored, to provide students with more choices, and step up the competition as well.

NYU Shanghai is expected to welcome its first group of 300 undergraduates next fall.

Among them, 151 will come from the Chinese mainland, while the rest will hail from Taiwan, Hong Kong and abroad.

For CRI, I'm SCC.

Biz Reports

First off, a check on the closing numbers in Asia.

Join me in the studio, Shen Chengcheng,

Reporter:

Asian stock market closed mixed Monday. Traders are widely expecting the Bank of Japan to announce new measures to help the country break out of its deflationary slump.

In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng dropped 0.2 percent. Property shares led the way down in the wake of an announcement by the government to tamp down prices by imposing a 15 percent tax on nonresident buyers of Hong Kong properties.

Raymond Yeung, Senior Economist, Greater China of ANZ

"I don't think that government should impose any restriction for the free flow of capital, including people coming to Hongkong to buy property. Because even if you impose this type of measure, the market is always more wise, they can find some leeway to long property if they wish to."

Japan's Nikkei was virtually unchanged.

South Korean KOSPI closed flat.

The Straits Times Index in Singapore plunged 0.9 percent.

And Australia's S&P/ASX 200 up 0.1 percent.

Markets Go Dark Ahead of Storm

U.S. stock markets are closed today because of the approach of Hurricane Sandy.

This is the first unscheduled, market-wide shutdown since the September 11th attacks in 2001.

The New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq had been considering plans to allow electronic trading.

"I do think that half a percent knock off 4th quarter GDP is actually being a number especially when you think storm Sandy is going to last for a few days. But people are pretty much going to stay and probably for three to five day period, and some people won't get their power back for perhaps two to three weeks. So this will be a significant impact in terms of production, particular consumers' activity in the US. "

Exchange officials, traders and regulators are cautioning the markets may stay closed on Tuesday as well.

Honda cuts net profit forecast for FY 2012 by 20 pct

Honda has cuts its net profit forecast for the fiscal year 2012.

The Japanese automaker has cut its net profit expectations by 20-percent for the full-year due to an expected sales decline here in China.

Fumihiko Ike is a senior official with Honda.

"We changed our estimates mainly due to the impact from the situation in China, the decrease of unit sales following the changes of business environment in European, South American and Indian markets, and the impact from the currency exchange rates in the developing countries,"

Honda has also lowered its sales target here in China for this fiscal year to 620-thousand units.

Honda says its two biggest plants in China will continue to run on one shift, rather than two.

The company says this will last until at least the middle of next month.¡¡¡¡

Honda is still maintaining plans to update its operations in Wuhan and Guangzhou over the next few years.

Executive Vice President Tetsuo Iwamura.

"As you know, China has become the biggest auto market in the world and it has undoubted growth potentials, so we stick to our investment plans bidding on the potentials."

Honda is expected to invest some 880-million yuan in the expansion of the operations in Guangzhou and Wuhan.

China industrial profits rise for first time in half a year

Anchor

Data over the weekend is showing China's industrial profits have risen 7.8-percent in September from a year ago.

That's up from a 6.2 percent drop in August.

However, combined profits of Chinese state-owned firms have fallen over 11 percent in the same period.

Persistent deflation has eaten into corporate profits this year as demand at home and abroad weakens.

For more on China's industrial profits, Rebecca Hume talked with Mike Bastin, Visiting Professor at China's University of International Business and Economics and researcher at NottinghamUniversity's School of Contemporary Chinese Studies.

That was Mike Bastin, Visiting Professor at China's University of International Business and Economics and researcher at NottinghamUniversity's School of Contemporary Chinese Studies, talking with CRI's Rebecca Hume.

Profits decline for Chinese listed companies

The net profit volumes of listed Chinese companies has dropped 12-percent year-on-year through the first three quarters.

Information service provider Wind Information is reporting the nearly 19-hundred listed companies in China have posted total net profits of some 300 billion yuan.

Upstream industries, including iron and steel, cement, coal and chemical production have suffered the most due to sluggish demand.

E China's JiaodongPeninsula to become world-class gold production center

The JiaodongPeninsula in Shandong is being developed with the hope of it becoming a world-class gold production base.

Leading domestic gold producer Shandong Gold Group has announced plans to establish a gold production center on the peninsula.

It's expected to have an annual output of 100 tons.

It's believed the Jiaodong peninsula has around 23-hundred tons of gold reserves.

Shandong Gold is planning to increase its production volume over the next 8-years.

The company is hoping to achieve an annual production value of more than 100-billion yuan.

Taiwan to build new landmark skyscraper

Developers on Taiwan have announced a plans to build a landmark skyscraper in downtown Taipei to rival Taipei 101.

The project is said to be worth 2.4 billion U.S. dollars.

The building, located near the Taipei Railway Station, will be a multi-functional complex containing offices, shopping malls, hotels and a transportation hub.

Construction is due to get started next year, with a completion date set for 2018.

Taipei 101, formerly the world's tallest building, has dominated the Taipei skyline for years.

Headline News

Hurricane Sandy: US states begin storm shutdown

US President Barack Obama is warning Americans to take Hurricane Sandy seriously.

The call comes as authorities begin shutting down the eastern seaboard ahead of its arrival, which is expected in the next 12-hours.

Several states have already declared emergencies, with schools and public transportation being shut down in many cities.

Experts are warning Sandy may become a super-storm when it makes landfall, given that a winter storm is expected to increase its strength.

Tropical storm Son-Tinh to land in Guangxi

Tropical storm Son-Tinh is currently skirting the southern coast of Guangxi, after hitting Vietnam this weekend.

The Hong Kong observatory is reporting Son-Tinh is tracking toward the southeast coast of Guangdong.

It's packing winds of 75-kilometers per hour.

And while the storm is dying down, it is forecast to bring significant rain to parts of Guangxi, Guangdong and Hainan over the next 24-hours.

Forecasters on the mainland are warning Guangxi could be hit with unto 240-millimeters of rain over the next 24-hours.

Chinese premier to attend Asia-Europe Meeting

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is set to make an official visit to Laos this coming month.

He'll be there to take part in this year's Asia-Europe Meeting in Vientiane.

The premier is due to meet with various leaders during his time there, including the top Laosian leadership.

This year's Asia-Europe meeting is going to be focused on how to facilitate economic recovery and tackle common challenges.

Profits decline for Chinese listed companies

The net profit volumes of listed Chinese companies has dropped 12-percent year-on-year through the first three quarters.

Information service provider Wind Information is reporting the nearly 19-hundred listed companies in China have posted total net profits of some 300 billion yuan.

Upstream industries, including iron and steel, cement, coal and chemical production have suffered the most due to sluggish demand.

Turkey strikes Syria after shells hits Turkish village

Turkey has launched a counter-assault, after a pair of shells from Syria hit a Turkish village.

The two anti-aircraft shells hit about 300 meters from a village near the border.

The Turkish army responded immediately with artillery fire of its own.

The Turkish military is warning of stronger retaliation if the fighting in Syria continues to spill over into its territory.

Over dozen rockets fired into south Israel from Gaza

Over a dozen rockets launched from Gaza have hit southern Israel over the past 24-hours.

So far the rockets have failed to hit any targets, with no injuries or damage being reported.

Officials in southern Israel have shut down schools amid the increasing frequency of rocket strikes coming from Gaza.

The Israeli air force has been responding with strikes on suspected launch areas.

The frequency of rocket launches from Gaza has been on the increase following the Emir of Qatar's visit to Gaza earlier this month.

He's the first sitting Head of State to visit Gaza since Hamas took control there around 5-years ago.

Newspaper Picks

SHANGHAI DAILY

Bus without thieves is a mere driver's prompt

Officials say Shanghai's public transport bus drivers have their own way of warning passengers about thieves on board their vehicles.

The assurance came after a recent microblog by a netizen, who claimed to be a bus driver in southeast China's FujianProvince, went viral on the Internet.

In the post the blogger revealed how a driver can warn passengers when he sees a thief on the bus by using repeated voice message prompts.

The driver writes: "if the bus kept playing 'please take care of your valuables' more than three times, don't get confused. There must be thief on board".

This is conceded by another Fujian driver saying"Voice prompting has been a 'hidden rule' of the industry. However, it has not been much recognized by passengers."

An official of the Shanghai Bus Group said its drivers have their own way to prevent thefts.

Shanghai will have more than 10 Angry Birds amusement parks in the next two years, according to officials of the popular Finnish smartphone game.

The amusement sites will mainly be built within local parks to include activities inspired by the mobile phone game, combining both physical and digital worlds.

According to Peter Vesterbacka, chief marketing officer for Rovio Entertainment, each park will be designed differently, with open and easy access to both children and adults.

And many of them will be free for the public while there may be entry tickets for larger venues.

The parks will be sited near schools so as to inspire local students to innovate.

Moreover, all the materials used to build the parks will be organic and environmentally friendly.

The first will open on Wednesday at TongjiUniversity.

It will feature a studio to encourage local children to design their own versions of the game.

DAILY MAIL

Schools teach cookery on Fridays

Hungry children from families too poor to eat are being taught cookery at school on Fridays so they have food to take home for the weekend.

Shocking figures have also revealed the number of Britons relying on emergency food handouts has soared to record levels.

According to the Unite union, one in seven children regularly go without a hot meal.

In Bradford, schools are getting pupils to cook a high-carbohydrate, nutritious meal before heading home for the weekends.

Ralph Berry, who chairs the city's Child Poverty Board, said teachers had been noticing that children were underweight and urged other schools to follow suit.

The Trussell Trust, which runs a nationwide network of 270 foodbanks, said nearly 110,000 people turned to it for help between April and September.

The organisation is expecting to feed more than 200,000 hungry mouths by the end of this financial year, with food prices likely to rise further and fuel bills increase by nearly 10%.

BBC

Women smokers who quit by 30 'evade earlier death risks'

A new study suggests that women who give up smoking by the age of 30 will almost completely avoid the risks of dying early from tobacco-related diseases.

The results showed lifelong smokers died a decade earlier than those who never started.

But those who stopped by 30 lost, on average, a month of life and if they stopped by 40 they died a year younger.

Health experts said this was not a licence for the young to smoke.

The lead researcher Prof Sir Richard Peto, from OxfordUniversity, says more than half of women who smoke and keep on smoking will get killed by tobacco.

The Professor added the crucial risk factor was "time" spent smoking, rather than amount.

He added it was hard to measure the risk of "social smoking" a few times a week.

The records from 1.2 million women showed that even those who smoked fewer than 10 cigarettes a day were more likely to die sooner.

Special Reports

AustraliaChina Youth Dialogue concludes

ANCHOR:

Some of the brightest young minds from China and Australia have taken part in this year's Australia China Youth Dialogue.

The 6-day conference has brought together high achieving young adults to discuss the two countries' current and future ties.

CRI's Alexandra Blucher has more.

REPORTER:

The timing of this year's annual Australia China Youth Dialogue couldn't have been more appropriate.

Just yesterday the Australian Government released a much-anticipated white paper on Australia in the Asian Century.

A major focus of the paper was on the importance of a deep knowledge of China and it's language among the future industry, business and government leaders in Australia.

Almost certainly many of these leaders of the future were among the Australian delegates who took part in this year's Dialogue.

Director Dominic Meagher says although the conference has just wrapped up, this is just the beginning of many newly-forged partnerships.

"One of the things that the Australian China Youth Dialogue does is act as a catalyst. There's so much energy and motivation and ambition for new projects to begin. The delegates that we had are so well connected back in their communities that the kind of activities that they're now working on are just going to really I think mainstream understanding between China and Australia.

Considering China is Australia's largest trading partner, much of the current relationship boils down to economics and finance.

But a major message that came out of the Conference was that for the Sino-Australian relationship to mature, a deeper cultural and social understanding is needed.

Wang Ding, is the chief strategist for the ANZ bank headquarters in Beijing.

"The ACYD really woke me up there are other issues happening in parallel and things that we've discussed in this session include environmental issues, social issues, cultural issues. A takeaway for me when I go back to work and actually look at problems in the bank, it actually gives me a new perspective when I actually consider problems and develop solutions."

Chau, who is Chinese Australian, is the Director of Cultural Intelligence, a cross-cultural consulting and training organization.

She says that in mainstream Australia and the business community, an understanding of Chinese culture is still very limited.

"There is a lot of discussion now about the Asian Century and what that actually means for Australia and culture obviously came up in the discussions as being a very key issue. Having said that though, the understanding of culture is still very limited and very weak, and I think that needs to be strengthened. It does take time and it's not as if you can go to China once and expect to understand the culture that just doesn't happen, so I think it is a long process and I think for the two countries to be able to understand each other that will take a lot longer."

In line with Chau and the Australian government's Asian Century white paper is OxfordUniversity doctoral candidate Julian Gruin.

The-27-year-old, whose research focus is China's political economy and financial development, says that it is vital for Australians who've specialized in China to return to Australia and use their knowledge to deepen the countries' bilateral ties.

"What I would like to see is more people being committed to returning to Australia and try and bring those points of view and bring their understanding that they've accumulated, their language skills, their Chinese networks, their personal relationships with people, in Hong Kong, In China, in Taiwan and all parts of east Asia and bring all of that knowledge back to Australia to really be able to orient Australia's business relationships and political relationships with China."

With Australia and China's diplomatic relations in their 40th year, the Sino-Australian relationship has come far, but there is still a long way to go.

And it seems that it is young people that will lead the way.

For CRI, this is Alexandra Blucher.

Sports

Giants thrash Tigers to win World Series

Start with baseball and the big news of course,

The San Francisco giants completing a 4-0 clean-sweep over the Detroit Tigers to take their 2nd World Series in 3 years and 7th overall.

The giants taking the 4th game 4-3 in 10 innings, with Marco Scutaro in the thick of things once again ¨C hitting a quick single in to shallow centre, bringing in Ryan Theriot for the winning run.

Slugger Pablo Sandoval meanwhile, being voted the Most Valuable Player of the series.

"You know, it's a team you know I say thank you to my teammates for giving me the opportunity to be here, you know they fight for 162 games, you know fight in the two last series, you know win six, win six elimination games is tough but you know I'm happy, I'm happy, I learned from my mistakes, you know when you learn, you see all the results and you look more mature and you put all the pieces together."

The Giants capping off a remarkable come-back, beginning from game 5 of the National League Division and Championship series, when they were 3-1 down against the St Louis Cardinals.

They came back to win that 4-3 and stake a place in the World Series, which of course now they've won in dominant fashion.

Serena Williams wins WTA Championship

On to tennis now and Serena Williams winning the season ending WTA Championships in Istanbul.

The 15 time Grand Slam champion easing to a 6-4, 6-3 win over Maria Sharapova. The 31 year old not facing a single break point throughout the game and ends the season with win/loss record of 58-4.

Williams now ends the year as World number 3, while Sharapova stays at 2 and Victoria Azarenka retains her world number 1 status.

Bayern Munich and Chelsea suffer home losses in league

On to football now and the German Bundesliga seeing Bayern Munich's perfect start to the season ended by Bayer Leverkusen at the Allianz Arena.

Munich were without the injured Frank Ribery and Javi Martinez and Arjen Robben on the bench, returning from a month long absence.

Leverkusen taking the lead in the first half through Stefan Kiessling before Mario Mandzukic continued his top scoring form, leveling in the 77th minute for his 8th goal this season.

Sidney Sam though, giving the visitors the final say with a header 3 minutes from time, giving Leverkusen their first win in Munich in 23 years.

Munich still top of the league with 24 points, followed by Schalke who beat Nuremberg 1-0 over the weekend.

Over in England, Javier Hernandez giving Manchester United an away win against Chelsea at StamfordBridge. The 3-2 win allowing the Red Devils to close the gap at the top of the table to a mere point.

Other results seeing English Champions beat Swansea by a single goal, Arsenal beating Queens Park Rangers by the same margin.

The Merseyside Derby between Everton and Liverpool finishing 2-ALL at GoodisonPark. The Toffees actually coming back from 2-0 down to level proceedings in the first half.

Liverpool then hitting the back of the net deep in stoppage time through Luis Suarez, but the goal ruled out due to off-side.

Replays showing the Uruguayan was clearly on-side though, something even Everton Manager David Moyes admitted after the game.

Vettel wins Indian Grand Prix

On to Formula One now and the weekend's Indian Grand Prix seeing another win from pole position for World Champion Sebastien Vettel.

The win also Vettel's 2nd consecutive at the Indian Grand Prix after the German also won last year's inaugural race at the Buddh International Circuit.

"I think it has been an incredible two years for us, both times to come here and win the race, get the pole on Saturday and win the race on Sunday - it's fantastic. There is always a very nice trophy so I am very very happy to pick up another nice one this year so a very special grand prix, I don't know what it is about this circuit."

3 races still remaining now with Alonso close behind Vettel in the Championship Standings. Next up ¨C the Abu Dhabi grand prix next weekend.

Meanwhile, Vettel is denying reports he's signed a deal with Ferrari which will allow him to possibly join them in 2014.

He says he hasn't signed anything and is happy to continue racing for Red Bull.

Hanson wins BMW Masters while Watney takes Asia-Pacific Classic

And just quickly in Golf

The BMW Masters in Shanghai seeing Peter Hanson fight of a late challenge from Rory Mcllroy to win by a single shot.

The Swede holding on to his overnight lead, for his 6th European Tour Victory.

Meanwhile, the Asia-Pacific Classic in Malaysia seeing Nick Watney shoot a final round 61 to take the title.

The American coming from 4 shots behind in Kuala Lumpur to end 22 under par and beating Rovert Garrigus and defending champion Bo Van Pelt by a single shot.

Entertainment

Beijing Int'l Film Festival Opens Awards Section

The Bejing International Film Festival organizers have announced that an official competition category will be added to event next year.

The festival will hand out multiples prizes called the Temple of Heaven Awards, including best feature film, director, and actor and cinematography categories.

Global submissions for next year's festival are open until the end of this year.

For the first two years of the festival, the main focus was on providing platforms for films to be screened and film makers and distributors to connect.

The film festival's major out-of-competition events include the Film Market, Film Carnival and Film Forum.

Past international guests include Directors James Cameron and Darren Aronofsky.

China Fashion Week Ethnic Trend

Colorful ethnic minority inspired clothing has been all the rage at the China International Fashion Week in Beijing over the weekend.

Yesterday saw embroidered pieces with bright colored silk linings and handmade pieces showcasing traditional craftsmanship but with a modern new edge.

Ma Lei is a brand manager who attended the weekend shows, she says that there has been a resurgence of craftsmanship and texture in fashion:

"Now more and more people like the embroidered dressing style. Digital printing, hand-embroidering, and ethnic colors have been combined to present confidence, boldness, and an unrestrained state

Opening late last week the event showcases over 50 domestic and international designers and will continue through this week.

'Skyfall' breaks box office records with international debut

The new James Bond film, Skyfall, has broken box office records in it's opening weekend in the UK.

(Skyfall clip)

Skyfall broke the records for the highest grossing Saturday attendance in the UK and took over 32 million US dollars over the weekend.

The film comes second to 3D Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 in the biggest debut weekend in the UK's box office history.

This is seen as particularly impressive because Skyfall is not screened in 3D, meaning it doesn't benefit from the higher prices of 3D tickets.

Internationally, Skyfall has grossed just shy of 78 million US dollars over the weekend.

The film is set to open on Friday in the US.

McCartney: Yoko 'not to blame' for Beatles split

(Beatles clip)

Former Beatle Sir Paul McMartney has claimed in a TV interview that Yoko Ono was not responsible for breaking up the Beatles.

Beatles fans have long blamed Yoko Ono, John Lennon's partner and child's mother, for taking Lennon away from the band.

McCartney, who's 70, says he wanted to set the record straight and that she certainly didn't break the group up.

He went onto say that she can't be blamed for anything and that Lennon was already going to leave the band.

McCartney's revelations come out of an hour long interview that will be aired on the Al Jazeera English TV channel next month.

After the band's split in 1970, both Lennon and McCartney went onto have successful solo careers.

Confidante put drugs in Britney's food, singer's mom testifies

(Spears clip)

The mother of Britney Spears has told a civil court that a former confidante of the pop star cut her phone lines and drugged her food.

Lynne Spears told the Los Angeles jury in the civil trial that the incidents occurred at the height of Spears meltdown five years ago.

Sam Lutfi, who was the singer¡¯s manager at the time is suing Lynne Spears for defaming him in her book called Through the Storm about the tumultuous period of time.

Spear's mother claimed that while Lutfi drugged her daughter's food to help her sleep and purposely disabled the phone lines.

She went onto say that she unsuccessfully tried to take her daughter away from the situation and that Lutfi was attempting to separate their family.

That's it for this edition and this week of the Beijing Hour actually.

A QUICK RECAP OF THE HEADLINES

A massive and potentially deadly storm is approaching the US northeast.

Syrian envoy Lakhdar Brahimi is due to arrive here in China tomorrow for talks.

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